Thursday, March 10, 2011

New Sofa... almost

I was THISCLOSE to buying a new sofa this week. Which for me is HUGE. In my entire life, I've never had a new sofa. Every sofa has been given to us by family (which we do appreciate!). But I think buying a brand new sofa is sort of an adult rite of passage.

The other day I was at West Elm looking for accessories for a client, and as I was leaving I came across this beautiful piece:

It caught my eye.. I look at West Elm's website at least once a day (for design boards) and never "saw" this one. Well, I have but it's much better looking in person.

Then I saw this:

What?? $699 PLUS an additional free slipcover? omg. what an amazing deal! And it'd be so perfect for our living room, which currently looks like this:

I've been thinking about a layout for this room for a while and recently decided on one. One of the black chairs will go beside the other window so they are facing each other. And a sofa will float in front of the doors, facing the windows. I have had this image saved saved as an inspiration image:

[ lonny ]

I went over our finances... we could swing this. Even my husband was on board! So I took my blue painters tape and taped out the sofa. I always recommend this to clients when deciding on a new piece of furniture.

The sofa was WAY too large. Deep down inside I sort of already knew that.. but I played with the painters tape for a while and it was confirmed.

So the sofa that almost was, wasn't. I had to share it with you though.. it's a GREAT deal and I hope someone out there can take advantage of it.

I did, however, confirm exactly what I'm looking for in a living room sofa:

- flat back- tight slipcover with skirt- white (reason for the slipcover)- LOW back (because of the french doors)

The West Elm sofa was a whopping 87" long.. which is way too long for the space. For our space, an "apartment" or "studio" sofa is in order.. less than 80".

So the living room will remain pretty much empty until the perfect sofa finds me.

26 comments:

Your inspiration room is gorgeous!!! Quick question...where did you get the lamp thats on the dresser ? The silver base and drum shade. Been looking for one and want to recover the shade with a fun fabric. Love the base on yours. THANKS!

Hi! I'm just down the road from you in Greenville, SC, and I love your blog! This is the sofa I've been coveting, and when I read your description I thought of it immediately: http://customsofadesign.com/styles.php?s=kentw. Also, you know the Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams factory is in Hickory--I've never been but I've heard rave reviews from others who have been and found great deals on gorgeous furniture! Good luck finding the perfect sofa!

I LOVE your blog! I just bought the Hollis slipcovered sofa from Ballard. I also needed something small scale, tight back, skirted and slipcovered b/c of my dog. I was a little worried b/c I couldn't sit in it and I never saw it in person but I love it. Ballard offers free shipping and returns if you decide you don't like it with in 10 days. the price is almost so low I couldn't believe it. I got both sofa, love seat and slipcovers for approx $1600 including in home delivery. They had a sale on slipcovered furniture in September so it was a great discount but they are so inexpensive anyway. Check them out. I think they would be perfect for your space.

Here is an amazing story for you Bryn... I also live in Charlotte...and I think we live in the same area based on what I have read in your blog, so maybe we will be friends soon. Well, here starts my story...I have wanted a white sofa since out of college, basically since we were married (11 years ago), but everyone thought I was crazy so I got a khaki slipcover sofa instead (which was way crazier because you can't even bleach it). We moved houses a year ago and we sold some furniture as we have been decorating our new house. I have been on the hunt, and I mean HUNT, for over a year for my slipcover sofa. It had to be beautiful, comfortable, modern, and especially for a fab price. So on Friday I woke to my coffee and blog reading and somehow stumbled upon your blog (which I am so enjoying), and then read your posting about West Elm. I was so excited that I couldn't stand it! I instantly called the store and got the info. Then I called my hubby with pure joy in my voice. By that afternoon, my three little girls, my Mr., and I all tested out the sofa at West Elm...Loved it! So then my Love delivered this long awaited beautiful sofa to our home by Friday night. It was a dream come true! 11 years of waiting and it was everything I wanted it to be. I know you really wanted this to be your sofa, but your dream- come-true will happen too. In the mean time, I wanted you to know that you made me so happy!!! Thanks so much for sharing, I owe it all to you! I look forward to browsing your blog. And who knows maybe I will run into you at Trader Joe's one day....I assume you shop there! :) Thank you, Ashley

Thanks for passing this along. I'm in the market for a new sofa and this one fits all my criteria (even the size), but seriously, what's the catch? Can anyone comment on the quality of West Elm furniture?

A beautiful sofa! Too bad it's too big, what a bummer. That's an amazing price too. Sigh. If we were ready to pull the trigger on a new sofa I'd be seriously considering this (although Seattle doesn't have a West Elm - the nearest is Portland about 2+ hours away - so I'd have to order it online w/out sitting in it....)

Hello Bryn! I´m big fan and I read your blog every single day!! I´m from Sao Paulo, Brazil but I thing I´ve never left you a comment. Your work and blog are amazing!! Come to visit me if you anytimekissesCarmen Martinsblog Achados de Decor (Decoration Findings)

Great price, especially with the extra slipcover. We have a white slipcovered sofa and the extra cover we bought comes in handy for those occasions when you take the cover off to wash but don't get around to it and also for a seasonal change.

I am the "someone out there" who took advantage! I have been stalking slipcovered sofas since I got married 3 YEARS ago but alas my $2,200.00 taste always kept it out of budget. Thanks for sharing! I will (in 5-7 business days) be the owner of this pretty girl with two slipcovers no less. I'm just waiting for someone to contact me to say it isn't coming. Too good to be true so to speak. Plus, with my "to the trade" code they gave me an additional 10%. $629.99 for a sofa and two slipcovers?? I'll believe it when I'm hauling it in my living room. Now, what sort of party should I throw to send off the bomer-jacket esque sofa my husband bought when he was 20??

Thank you goodness you measured. This is a perfect example of how amazing discounts lure us into buying things that are just not quite right (or in this case, drastically wrong, size-wize), just because it's too tempting to pass up an irresistible bargain. This happens to me with clothes ALL THE TIME, even though I know better.

That particular sofa was not supposed to be yours. But yours WILL find you. I am sure of it!

Bummer! We found the perfect sofa at Arhaus, not somewhere we usually find stuff, but it has the flat back, is white, has a moderate back and could probably be slipcovered...at least worth checking out-we love ours. Good luck, I know you'll find something beautiful!! *Amy

oh man, at least you did the right thing! It is a gorgeous sofa though.

I just bought the KIVIK Loveseat from IKEA in a white slipcover and I just LOVE it, it may not be the style you are going for, but it does fit some of your requirements. We too found that a full size sofa was way to big for our space, the loveseat size was just perfect.

It is gorgeous :) Great now that you know exactly what you want.. that is going to be another beautiful room.. I'm crazy about your inspiration pick, and those chairs sitting in there already are divine! xoxo

Sorry to hear the sofa was not the right size. Thanks for the hint on using the blue painters tape. We are in the search of some furniture and taping it off is a great way to give us an idea if it will work.

OMG I am still dying over this post even though I am just now reading it! We have been in the same boat on the same hunt! I have never owned a new couch and for the first time in my life we were ready to buy one. Looked at the exact same couches as you. . . came within an inch of buying a Lee couch from Luxe, all hubby had to do was sit on it and aprove. As luck would have it, he HATED it. . . and he never hates anything. I had two alternates in mind at Restoration Hardware and C & B (yours) he went to RH, loved our couch and bought it on the spot. Shocked me to pieces. . . So glad you finally got your dream couch!!